O Man! Know Your Worth

In the name of ALLAH, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

O Man! Know Your Worth

The atom is the basic building block of all matter and the smallest unit of any element. An atom is an incredibly small atomic particle that cannot be seen even with a microscope; but it contains a storm of energy within itself. It is the tremendous power of nuclear energy that fuels stars; such as our Sun whose rays are source of life on our earth. When human race learnt about the secret of the enormous power of the atomic nucleus, it also learned how to control it. But what a pity that the man has also used this tremendous energy as a weapon for its own destruction; that it has created an atomic bomb, which if used, would turn our only habitat Earth into a wasteland.

Atom of matter in essence is so powerful, so just think how much energy and power the son of Adam, who is the bearer of the spirit given by Allah Subhanahu Taala, i.e. the "command of ALLAH", will have. Just think that the progress that man has made today and the ease and luxury he has acquired for the temporal life; is because of this essence which is called spirit. But still there are scores of humans, who are astray and are not on the path or method for whom he has been created. 

How many of the multitude of humans walking on earth are servants of ALLAH? How many of the servants of ALLAH recognize their own worth? The Lord of the Muslims, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), says, "A man who recognizes his own worth will never be ruined."

And Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala has said in the Holy Quran, Furqan Hamid, 

"This is the ˹natural˺ Way of Allah. And who is better than Allah in ordaining a way? And we worship ˹none but˺ Him." (Surah Al-Baqarah, 138)

And ALLAH has also said, 

"I (ALLAH) did not create jinn and humans except to worship Me". (Surah Adh-Dhariyat, 56)

Pakistan's national poet, Hakim-ul-Ummat Allama Muhammad Iqbal, has said a poem "Hazrat-e-Insan" in his book Armaghan-e-Hijaz, which says:

اگر مقصودِ کُل مَیں ہُوں تو مجھ سے ماورا کیا ہے

 مرے ہنگامہ ہائے نَو بہ نَو کی انتہا کیا ہے؟

If I am the end of all, then what lies beyond?

Where lies the limit of my unending adventures?

We can explain it in this way: if it is true that the entire universe and all its objects have been created for me, and everything has been created to serve me, then nothing can be higher than me. I am the most noble and superior to everything. But the condition is that I attain such a position by becoming aware of my abilities and qualities and by recognizing my own self. If this situation does not arise in me, then everything will overcome me and I will remain defeated. 

ALLAH Almighty has made me His deputy and His vicegerent and in this respect the manifestation of His attributes. If I become aware of my self, everything will be defeated by me. What is the ultimate limit of these new upheavals that are being created by me in this universe to become aware of myself? So there is this limit only that I cannot be ALLAH; but that I can attain some manifestation of His attributes and names. And I can rule wrt time and space. 

The Muslim by manifestation and definition shall be best human but Why is today's Muslim in trouble? Muslims are free to say; unaware of their self, and their thoughts and ideas are a manifestation of mental backwardness and governments are slaves. In Allama Iqbal's life, India was in slavery, so who could have exposed their problem better than Iqbal?

 Thus, in a ghazal of Zarb Kaleem, it is said that

Leisure is available only to slaves

There is no leisure for a free servant in the world.

In this poem, Allama Iqbal has made clear the difference between the lifestyle and thinking of a free man (freedom loving) and a man with a slave mind. Iqbal says that "free time", that is, idleness, laziness, comfort, and luxury, are only available to slaves. Those who do not understand the purpose of their lives, who are subordinate to others, and who are free from personal or national responsibilities, have only time, But they do not use this time for any great purpose. 

On the contrary, the "freedom loving" - ​​the man who is truly free, self-conscious, self-sufficient, and who has subordinated his life to a higher purpose - has no room in the world for leisure or idleness. His life is one of continuous action, struggle, service, construction and awakening. Iqbal here considers slavery not only as a political or physical condition but also as a mental and spiritual slavery, and emphasizes that freedom is a name of continuous movement and struggle, not of rest. 

A person who is truly free strives for a great goal every moment. He is engaged in the service of his people, his nation, and humanity. He does not even think of leisure or rest. This poem beautifully reflects the philosophy of action, awareness, and self. For Iqbal, freedom means responsibility, engagement, and continuous struggle, while slavery means laziness, aimlessness, and negligence.

Iqbal himself has said that

The hand of ALLAH is the hand of the believing servant

Wondrous and creative, hardworking, productive

Called the earthen or the light, the servant with Master's attributes

Rich from both sides, his heart is selfless

His hopes are few, his goals are glorious

His demeanor deceives the heart, his gaze pleases the heart

A soft breath of conversation, a hot breath of pursuit

Whether it is a song or a dance, a pure heart and a pure musician

( ہاتھ ہے اللہ کا بندۂ مومن کا ہاتھ

غالب و کار آفریں، کارکُشا، کارساز

خاکی و نوری نہاد، بندۂ مولا صفات

ہر دو جہاں سے غنی اس کا دلِ بے نیاز

اس کی اُمیدیں قلیل، اس کے مقاصد جلیل

اس کی ادا دل فریب، اس کی نِگہ دل نواز

نرم دمِ گُفتگو، گرم دمِ جُستجو

رزم ہو یا بزم ہو، پاک دل و پاک باز)

O servant of ALLAH, know your worth; discover yourself, only then will you know your worth. It is the result of human intellect and wisdom that the atomic bomb has been made and there is such rapid progress and development in this world and its shows. It is only the Muslim nations that is constantly suffering from degradation and backwardness.

If we, the children of Adam, want to see ourselves as believers or servants of ALLAH, with the intellect, understanding and perception to achieve our purpose in life, And to know the value of our own essence, it is essential that we give some glory to our essence, that is, ourselves. We the Muslims will have to become something worthy; only then will we be able to become successful human beings and nations.